Treesearch

Interaction between soil bulk density and low soil water content may create root growth-limiting soil strengths. In a Louisiana longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stand, soil strength at the zero- to 20.0-cm depth was assessed in response to no fire or biennial fires in May. At the 5.0- to 20.0-cm depth, one-half of the measurements were characterized by root growth-limiting soil strengths regardless of fire history. Where soil strengths were root growth limiting, pine fine root biomass was about 24 percent lower than where soil strengths were not root growth limiting. Correlation...

Common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.) is a shade-tolerant tree species found in southern bottomland hardwood forests. It is a desired species due primarily to its large fruit used by many wildlife species. While it has been observed as a component in natural reproduction, persimmon is rarely found as an overstory species in maturing bottomland hardwood stands. Unfortunately, little information exists regarding persimmon ecology and silviculture to develop silvicultural prescriptions to increase its stand density and development. Results from an archived dataset of stem analysis from a...

The structure of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests of the Southeastern United States Coastal Plains has been the focus of numerous studies. By comparison, the forests in the mountains of Alabama and Georgia are not well understood. Less than 1 percent of longleaf pine stands found in the montane portion of longleaf’s range are considered old growth. Several of these stands occur on the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge located in northeastern Alabama. A 1998 study documented the conditions in two old-growth longleaf pine stands on the refuge. The 1998 study described...

We created a decision tree based on silvics of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and historical descriptions to develop approaches for restoration management at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park located in central Alabama. A National Park Service goal is to promote structure and composition of a forest that likely surrounded the 1814 battlefield. We considered options for (1) stands currently supporting second-growth montane longleaf, (2) isolated trees, and (3) areas beyond dispersal range of longleaf seed. We estimate >50 percent of the property is appropriate for longleaf but

Boxelder (Acer negundo L.) is a shade-tolerant species commonly found in west Gulf Coastal Plain floodplains. It is a desirable species for wildlife habitat, but has long been considered a “weed” for timber management, especially when regenerating forests to more desirable species. Results from an archived dataset of stem analysis from a variety of bottomland hardwood species showed the successional pathway of boxelder following the pioneer species eastern cottonwood [Populus deltoides (Bartr.) ex Marsh.] on point bars along former Mississippi River channels. We were not able to show...

Foresters, wildlife biologists, and naturalists manipulate forest composition and structure for numerous reasons including forest regeneration, timber production, wildlife habitat, conservation of native biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration. Light conditions in the understory of forests and woodlands are often key in meeting the management objectives. In this study, predictive models were developed relating mean diurnal understory photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (400 to 700 nm) as percentages of above canopy (understory PAR) to measures of canopy closure, stocking, basal area,...

In February of 1993, an F3 tornado caused a large-scale disturbance in an east Tennessee oak-hickory (Quercus spp.-Carya spp.) forest. Vegetation response to anthropogenic and natural disturbances was compared by examining two tornado-disturbed areas and five adjacent 1-acre silvicultural clearcut areas unaffected by the tornado disturbance. Nested overstory, midstory, and understory plots (0.1-, 0.02-, and 0.001-acre plots, respectively) were measured to determine species composition, species diversity, stocking, and structure, as well as coarse woody debris (CWD) volume, density, and...

Three disturbance treatments were implemented on a tupelo-cypress forested wetland in southwestern Alabama on the Tensaw River in 1986: (1) clearcutting with helicopter log removal (HELI), (2) HELI followed by rubber-tired skidder traffic simulation (SKID), and (3) HELI followed by removal of all vegetation during the first two growing seasons via glyphosate herbicide application (GLYP). At year 2 the SKID treated areas were wetter and had dramatic negative changes in soil characteristics and hydrology. By year 7 these negative impacts of skidder traffic were ameliorated. Further, the SKID...

Characteristic arborescent communities of mesophytic or xerophytic species have long been recognized as indicative of forest site quality in the Southern Appalachians, where soil moisture availability is the primary environmental variable affecting productivity. But, a workable quantitative system of site classification based on species composition is not available. We devised a prototype expert system by assigning a relative moisture weight to upland forest tree species according to their position of modal occurrence on a soil moisture gradient ranging from xeric to mesic. We classified...

The expansive network of experimental forests (EF) facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) encompasses a fairly complete representation of the forest ecotypes in the nation. The network, 101 years old this year (2009), has provided researchers with a wealth of long-term data on silviculture, watershed protection, and restoration. However, our nation’s needs and expectations have changed dramatically in the last 100 years. A number of structural, financial, and policy challenges must be overcome if the current EF model is to continue to exist. The Forest Service must...